The Wilting Rose
by Dragon Parade
Summary: AU where Adam joins Blake as she decides to abandon the White Fang and become a huntress. Will Adam become a true huntsman or will the evils of his past wilt him away?
1. To Absolve from Sin

**A/N: Hey everyone, Parade here with another story! Now I've always loved Adam as a character but almost never see any fanfics about him (which is normal since he's barely in the show...for now) so I decided to write my own! I literally thought of writing this about 15 mins ago in a burst of inspiration so please excuse the shortness of the Chapter. Also, this does not mean I will not be updating The Son of Sorrow. SoS will be updated regularly and if you want, this one too. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: To Absolve from Sin

Adam sat in his seat as the hovership made it's ascension. He watched as the ground grew farther and farther away from him untill all that was beneath him was a sea of clouds in a world of light. The aircraft lurched forward and made it's way to Vale, away from his home, away from Vaccuo. And away from the White Fang.

As he looked out to the sea of clouds his mind drifted to a few weeks ago. He and Blake had been sent on a mission to capture and destroy a shipment of Schnee Company dust. He and her fought as they always had, a single unit of deadly speed and cunning. They weaved through the crowds of guards, bringing them down one by one as Adam sheathed and unsheathed his Katana with blinding quickness and accuracy, while Blake's whip sailed to and fro, shooting every target she aimed for, all of them falling dead with a hole in their head. It was Beastly and it was Beautiful.

It was then that something went wrong, something they had not anticipated. A giant mechanized behemoth came before them, shooting them with pulsating red lasers. He remembered the excitment he felt, the rush of battle coursing through him, charging his katana as Blake bought him time. He remembered the surge of energy blasting out of his sheathe as the technological terror released it's own, the two powers struggling against each other for dominance until Adam won out, the giant destroying before him.

And he remembered the look on his partners face as she apologized to him, a look of confusion on his face. He watched as she cut the lins that connected their two carts, hers rushing away from him. He saw himself leap toward her, refusing to leave her side, begging her to stay. He saw her pained look as she told him why she could never do that. He shook as head as he chose the next best thing. _If you won't stay with me_ he said. _Then I will go with you_.

"Hey, are you okay?" came a voice to his right.

He turned his head toward the voice. "Yea i'm fine" he said. "Just thinking as all".

Blake sat beside him and placed a steaming cup in his hand. Adam looked down to see she had brought him coffee. "About what?" she asked,

He took a sipped from his cup. It had the perfect amount of cream and sugar, with just a hint of hazlenut in it. Just the way he liked it. "Nothing important. Just the past as all."

Blake nodded and sipped from hers . "You're thinking about that day, huh? About whether or not it was the right decision?".

Adam sat silently for a while, staring out of the window. Finally he took another swig of his coffee and answered. "No, I know what we did was right. I'm just wondering whether or not our desertion is enough to absolve us of our sins"

Blake paled and look away. "I don't know Adam. I mean...we did some bad things in our past"

"Yea" said Adam. "I know"

The two sat in silence for the rest of the way, occasionaly drinking from their cups as they watched the other passengers, taking in their surrondings. They had opted for the very back of the hovercraft where they would be given the least amount of looks. From what Adam could see, most students were roughly sixteen to eigtheen year olds, though there was a fairly short girl with a red hood that looked to be younger then all of them. With her was a much taller busty blonde girl who was currently squeezing the red one to death.

From beneath his mask he rolled his eyes. _If I get stuck with one of those two I am going to lose my mind_ he thought.

By looking around he noticed there were more Fauni admitting to Beacon then he originally thought. In the corner to the fareast was a monkey Faunus eating a banana with his tail. He wore a loose unbottoned shirt, revealing his sharp abbed chest. He could tell, however, that he did not do this as a way of showing off, for his eyes seemed excited and his hands fidgety like a child. He made note to keep an eye on him.

There was also a shy looking bunny Faunus who sat opposite to the monkey looking nervous and slightly scared, her ears drooped slightly forward. She looked around nervously, as if she were hiding from someone, but from who he could not tell.

There were also many cat and bear Fauni, all of them standing in different little groups scattered across the airship. He also took note that all, if not most, were speaking with humans, reminding him they weren't as bad as the Fang and lead him to believe. He scowled into his cup.

Blake saw this and rolled her eyes, smiling at her friends annoyance as he attempted to adjust to respectiing humans.

After a while the hovercraft finaly made it's decent and he heard the distant sound of wet regurgitating from the end of the bus. He turned to see another blonde boy in white armor puke rinto one of the garabge bins. Adam turned his face from it and waited for the hatch to open. When it finally did he stood with Blake and walked over to the exit, getting off of the plane after hours of sitting.

The sight they saw stunded them. The gazed upon the immense castle that stood before them, surronded by gardens and fountains and statues of warriors. He rested his hand on the hilt of his weapon, anticipating that this was too good to be true. When nothing happened he dropped his hand, and turned to look a Blake who had the same expression of awe on her face.

"What IS the place?" she said stunned.

"This" said Adam, "Is our new home. This where I our new lives begin. This," he said as he paused to take another awe-inspiring look at that castle, "This is Beacon Academy".

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**A/N: Well I hope you guys like the first chapter of the Wilting Rose! Feedback is really appreciated and needed!**


	2. The Beginning of the Beginning

**A/N: It's late and I'm sorry but here ya'll go!**

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Chapter 2: Beginning of the Beginning

The two partners exchanged smiles and began to walk towards the looming castle ahead of them. By now the bridge was filled with students and their belongings, ready to start a new-or their first-year on the path to becoming hunters and huntresses.

_Hunter_ thought Adam. _I never thought I would ever associate myself with that title. They're supposed to be the heroes of our world, protecting the people-all people-from the threats that try to harm us. But all I've ever done is harm them, as if I were a Grimm too. Can I really become a new man? Is it really all that-_

"Adam" whispered Blake. "Look".

"Huh?" he said confused. "What are you-oh." His eyes followed her outstretched hand to a two students on the bridge. One of them was the short red girl from earlier though the blonde was nowhere in sight. With her was a girl who looked as pale as a ghost, her hair even more devoid of color with her clothing matching the style. Strapped to her side was multi-dust chambered rapier. By the symbol she bore on her clothing he confirmed who she was.

"A Schnee" he growled. His hand went to his Katana and he started towards them, before Blake put her hand to his chest.

"Adam...you can't kill anymore remember? You promised you would try to be more open to humans."

"I doubt you can give a Schnee that much credit. And besides" he said as she opened her mouth, "I'll be helping that little red human over there. consider this...practice" he said with an evil grin.

Blake considered this for a moment. "No fighting, okay?"

"I'll try my best" he tried walking again but was stopped by her hand once more.

"Adam" she demanded.

He took his hand off his weapon and raised them. "Fine, I'll go for the diplomatic approach."

She released him and he made his way towards the girls, Blake trailing closely behind.

"Hey I said, I was sorry princess" retorted the red girl to the Schnee.

"Heiress" said Adam as he approached them. "Though with all her wealth, I doubt that makes a differences."

"Wha-? said the red one. The Schnee stared at him with contempt.

"She's Weiss Schnee, heiress to Schnee Dust company, one of the largest producers of energy propellent in the world" said Blake

Weiss readjusted herself and grew a smug look on her face. "Finally some recognition" she said highly.

"The same company" Adam continued. "That has some questionable business partners and fairly shitty labor forces. Especially" he stroked his horns as he said this "on the Faunus".

Weiss grew angry and flustered once more. "What?" she shrieked. "How dare you! Oh the nerve you posses." She gave one last puff of haughty air, took the vial of dust from the red girls hand and walked away.

Adam smirked. "Dumb Schnee. We sure showed her."

"Uh thanks for your help. She was beginning to scare me" said the tiny red one.

Adam shrugged. "Whatever. She needed to be put in her place." He turned away to follow Blake who had already began walking back towards their things.

"Oh i'm Ruby Rose by the way and uh" she began as he started walking. "Hey wait, we have the same symbol."

He stopped and turned his head back to Ruby. "What?"

"Your symbol. It's a rose just like mine!" she said with an excited grin.

Adam then noticed she was right. She bore a rose at the hem of her skirt. Except...

"No" he said emotionless. "We don't"

Her excitement deflated. "What do you mean? They're both-"

"Your rose blooms and grows and comes alive" he said. "Mine Wilts and withers and dies". With that he continued his way to Blake, leaving the saddened girl alone once more. He was tempted to turn back and apologize but the barfing blonde boy from the ship had come to her rescue.

As he approached Blake she gave him a raised brow and a smirk. " 'Your rose blooms and grows and comes alive" he said. "Mine Wilts and withers and dies'" she repeated. "Really going for the mysterious damaged hero vibe?"

Adam chuckled and grinned. "Well it's a fun role to play. Besides, it'll keep people from talking to me. The less people that talk to me, the better. Easier to keep our cover that way"

Blake and nodded and looked away. "Yea I guess your right. Well, lets just go to the school, opening ceremony is about to start."

Adam nodded and they made their way to the school. Soon they would become students of beacon academy and be on their way to becoming hunters. The path to redemption.

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After a rather brief but thorough speech from the Headmaster-Ozpin-the students made their way to a giant room where they would be sleeping for the night. Adam had set his sleeping back on the wall to the back, Blake doing the same of the girls side of the room. He stripped down to his black and red boxers and a black t-shirt, the combo seeming to be the one most of the boys-save vomit boy with his blue onsie-opted for.

He sat back and leaned against on the wall. He looked over and saw that Blake was taking a break from her book to talk to Ruby and the blonde-he learned earlier was named Yang-and smiled. Blake was usually so reserved and quite with others. She really only opened up to him and that was initially done out her needing to due to his being her mentor. He was glad though when she began doing it out of trust.

"Hey Cow, why do you keep staring at your girlfriend over there? Miss her already?" said a humourous voice.

His eyes scrunched in annoyance under his mask. "What did you call me you lousy hu-" he stopped as he examined the source of the voice. "A Faunus?"

"Yep, sorta what the tail implies" he said as swished his monkey tail in front of him.

"The hell you insulting me about my horns then?" he said with dying anger.

The monkey was taken aback. "Whoa, who said I was insulting you? I mean you are a Bull Faunus right?"

"Well yea, but that doesn't mean you have to call me by my species." said Adam.

"Ah sorry dude, didn't mean you any harm. Oh, I'm Sun by the way, Sun Wukong", The monkey Faunus extended his hand to the sitting bull Faunus.

Adam considered him for a moment. He wore a gold crescent pendant around his neck that lay flat against his white t-shirt. He wore light blue pajama shorts and wore a kind, eager face as his hand remained outstretched in the open air. Finally Adam raised his hand shook it.

"Adam Taurus" he said. Sun grinned and sat next to him.

"So, you missing your girl eh?" he said mischievously.

Adam looked at him with slight annoyance. "She's not my girlfriend. I've been her mentor for...a long time as all"

"Oh I get that, I get that. Sorry for bothering you by the way, I just thought since you were sitting alone you might want some company and all."

Adam shrugged. "Being alone isn't the same as being lonely. But I appreciate the thought."

Sun smiled. "Not a problem" he rose and stretched his arms and back. "Well, i'm going to go get some shut-eye. Big day tomorrow eh?"

Adam nodded slightly. "Yea, I guess so."

"Well, g'night then Adam" he said as he walked to his sleeping bag towards the middle of the room.

"You too Sun." said Adam. He crawled into his bag as the lights went out. tomorrow would be the day that decides the course his future would take. tomorrow would, in many ways, decide which people will help shape him into the man he hopes to be. He laid awake for most of that night, until finally, he drifted to darkness.

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**A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the Chapter and sorry for any grammar/spelling errors, had to edit quickly since my laptop is dying. Questions, Comments, and REviews are appreciated,. Follow/Fave is ya like where this story is a-goin**


	3. Initiation Day

**A/N: Holy shit it has been a looong time since this has been updated. My deepest apologies for that. There are MANY factors as to why this is but the main reason is this: I had no idea what I was doing with it. I started this story on a whim at half past midnight about 15 minutes after the idea came to me, so I had absolutely no idea what to do after the first 2 chapters. Thankfully, however, I have recollected my thoughts and am now ready to continue the tale of one of my favorite RWBY character, so let us begin!**

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Chapter 3: Initiation Day Part 1

Adam woke the next day without much comfort. He had gotten little sleep the night before, worried about what the day will bring. If he and Blake didn't end up on the same team, there was no telling what may happen to the duo. He worried over what may happen to her if she was surronded by humans, especially when she still felt insecure about people knowing her faunus nature. He silently swore to himself he would help her get through this.

He stretched his arms and his legs, bending his back like a cat as he cracked the joints around his body. He straightened his mask and put on his clothes, buttoning a single button on his overcoat. He put his hand to his sheath and grabbed empty air.

_Right, it's in the locker_ he thought. With a sigh he made his way to the door. Everyone was still asleep for the most part, a few snoring and some just beginning to wake groggily. He rolled his eyes beneath the mask and continued to walk. Waiting for him there was-

"Blake?" he said.

"You're five minutes late" she said. "Already becoming lazy are we?"

Adam smirked. "You're one to talk. You didn't even put your bow on right."

With a yelp she quickly readjusted it before anyone woke up. Adam sighed at this.

"Blake..." he started.

"Adam please just...we'll talk about it later okay?" she pleaded.

"But you shouldn't have to hide what you are. Be proud of it. Who cares about what those pathetic hu-" he stopped himself and breathed. "what people think of it?"

She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let's just discuss this later. Please? For me?".

He wanted to protest but he knew she wouldn't let up. Blake always kept things to herself and wasn't much for self expression. She opened up almost no one, and even when she did she only opened a little. He hoped this school would change that.

After a long pause he finally nodded. "Okay. For you.".

Blake nodded. "Thank you". And with that they, turned and made their way to the lockers.

It had been another hour and a half before the other students filed their way into the locker room. Most had simply grabbed their weapons and headed out the door but some-like Adam and Blake-decided to stay behind and survey the remaining competition.

The Schnee-Weiss-was eagerly speaking to Pyrrah Nikos, a popular competitor in live gladiator matches. Adam was impressed. He had never seen a celebrity behave so kind and humble, especially to the blonde kid Juane who was now attempting to flirt with her. _Guess even humans have their good apples..._thought Adam. Meanwhile, Ruby was whining to her sister about not wanting to make friends. For a talkive girl, she sure was anti-social.

"I'm heading to the airship, okay?" said Blake from his left. He turned to her and nodded.

"Good luck" he said.

"Thanks, you too" she said. They looked at each other for a moment and a silent agreement passed between them. They gave each other a silent nod and Blake turned toward the exit, reassured. He waited for a few minutes before turning towards the exit but found his path blocked by none other than-

"Hey Adam, whats up?" said Sun. He was wearing the same clothes he wore on the plane, but at his side was a blue haired guy in a...suit thing?

"This is my friend Neptune Vasilias. I thought i'd have him say hi before we start initiation." he said eagerly.

"Wassuuup" said Neptune with a winning smile. From what Adam could tell, he was your typical cool-guy human. He wore a fine velvet suit that resembled a valet driver with a silver gun handle showing from behind his back. Atop his sea blue hair were yellow goggles.

"Hi. Um sorry but I need to go to the airship. Almost time to go and whatever." said Adam. He really wasn't in the mood for meeting new people. Or any people for that matter. _Gosh I'm turning into Blake_ he thought.

"Oh yea sorry. We should get there too Neptune, let's go." said Sun. And with that, the three boys made their way towards ships that would take them to the Emerald Forest, to the begining of their tomorrows.

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After a quick five minute flight, the students, along with professors Goodwitch and Ozpin, were dropped off at the peak of a plateaued hill. The students stepped one by one onto metal plates and listened as the professor explained how the initiation process works. Adam was barely paying attention.

"Your partners will be the first person you make eye contact with in the forrest" said Ozpin loudly, catching Adam's interest.

_What...WHAT?_ he thought. _The first person you see? But that means the odds of me and Blake becoming partners are so slim!_ His mind instantly filled with worry about whether or not him and Blake were going to be on the same team, let alone partners. What it mean would for their secret if they werent. What it would do to their _friendship_.

Adam shook that last thought off._ No Blake is better than that. She would never abandon me for_ _being on a different team, as neither would I _he thought_. I promised her as much. __Still... it'd be whole lot better if stick together. I hope I'm able to find her in time._

"You will figure out you're own landing strategy. Now any questions?" continued Ozpin. Landing strategy? Adam looked down and grinned. _Oh this is fucking perfect_ he thought. He took his stance with his body leaning forward and his hands on Wilt and Blush. He took one last look at Blake and winked beneath his mask. Blake, knowing his winks by his facial movements, smirked and readied herself as well.

"Good" said Ozpin. In a matter of seconds he heard the first sounds of the plates as students began catapulting through the air. In an instant Adam was airborne and in the next he was preparing his strategy, a maneuver he had done many times on missions for the Fang. He closed his eyes and began to focus his semblance, confident the amount of time in the air would be enough to charge it. He sailed across the treetops of the Emerald forrest as the dye on his hair and the symbols on his jacket began to glow white-red. Just and he was about to slam into the massive branch of an oak tree, he quickly unsheathed his sword half-way as the blade began absorbing all the energy of the impact, suspending him in mid-air. After a few seconds, he simply dropped to the floor and landed gracefully on his feet and resheathed the blade.

"Thank you very much my dear tree, but I can't walk around the forest looking like a lit candle. So," he said as he approached the tree. "I bid you, _adue_". He sliced the tree across it's bark as the energy from the impact flowed from Adam's body and into the Oak. At first, nothing happened. Then, as if the tree were a rose, the bark and the leaves and branches wilted into into a flurry of rose petals, flying off into the wind. He grinned and turned in the other direction, prepared to leave when he heard a loud thump from behind him.

"Owww" came a girl voice from behind him. He made the mistake of turning around. Sitting in the pile of rose petals was the bunny faunus from the plane ride. She looked up at him the stared at each other eye to mask. The realization of what had just occured to him hit him like a punch to the gut.

_No...no no no no NO!_ he thought. It had only been 2 minutes in and he already found a partner. And it wasn't Blake.

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**A/N: Welp, I hope you guys enjoyed the long awaited chapter for The Wilting Rose! Hopefully updated will be more frequent from henceforth. Follow/Fave if you like the story and leave a review to let me know how I did!**


	4. A Family of Roses

**A/N: Surprise! Ahh now I bet you guys thought I had given up on poor old Adam eh? Well to all you nay sayers out there I am glad to say you are wrong. I was able to type this up at my grandmas (thanks mammy ;3; ) and although the next update may be far off, I would like to add that I finally discovered the issue with my laptop so inshallah (if God is willing) I will be able to have regular updates soon. Also, thank you so much for 48 followers and 30 favorites. Considering the fact I have not put out a lot of content on this story, the support really makes me want to put these out ASAP. Well that's all for now, enjoy!**

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Chapter 4: A Family of Roses

Adam continued to stare at the bunny eared girl in contempt, though she could not see it.

_How could I have been so stupid?_ he angrily thought to himself. _She was right there! I can't believe I blew it like that!_

She had already stood up and was wiping leaves and and grass off of her clothing.

"So I guess this means we're partners huh? My name is Velvet," she extended "and what is yours?".

Her hand hung in the air for quite some time. Her smile faded and she dropped it to her side. Adam tsked and began angrily walking in front of him through the thicket of the forest. Velvet yelped and trailed behind him.

He resented her. Though the more rational part of him knew it was in no way her fault, he did not want to listen to it. At the end of the day, this half-rate bunny fresh out of school was to be his partner and not his oldest friend.

"So uh, what school did you train at? I never saw you at signal and I-" she began.

Adam stopped in his tracks. "Look," he said, "not to sound like an ass but we are not friends you hear me? As far as I'm concerned we're complete strangers so stop acting like we are buddies."

The moment the words escaped his lips he regretted it. He was about to apologize when Velvet spoke up.

"Look," she said, "I understand that you were hoping you'd be partnered with your girlfriend. I understand that you probably don't know anyone else since you guys haven't left each others side since arriving. But taking it out on me wont change a damn thing. Now if you would stop being irritable for one second, maybe we could find the relics in time to at least get her on our team."

Adam stood there in shock. He had initially perceived her to be quite and timid, but she turned out to be very strong-willed. He closed his jaw.

"Shes not my _girlfriend_" he muttered. Velvet smiled and walked ahead of Adam, trudging through smugly. Adam shook his head and followed her.

_She does have a point_ he thought. _Hope isn't lost, we could still end up together!_

"So, what's your name?" she asked once more.

"Adam," he responded, "Adam Taurus. And you're Velvet Scarlatina correct?"

"I don't remember giving my last name" she said, pushing branches away from her.

"You didn't have to." Adam said no more and Velvet did not push it. They entered a clearing and were met with dozens of glowing red eyes in the brush. They stood still and Adam's hand immediately went to Wilt and Blush. An Ursa leaped from the bush and advanced towards them. Adam sped to it with blinding speed. He ran straight past it, slicing its head, and re-sheathing the blade so quick, the beasts body ran a for a few seconds before collapsing to the floor.

A few more leapt out at him, and this time it was Velvet who chased towards the Grimm. From her hips she unsheathed two wicked orange blades with green hilts, and leaped in the air with a fierce battle cry. Landing on the middle Ursa, she drove her blades into its neck and, wasting no time, pulled them out and aimed them at them at the ones to her right and left. A blast of red fired from each of the tips, exploding upon contact with the unfortunate creatures.

Once again Adam was in shock. _Damn shes a Bad ass_ he thought._ But I am not about to be shown up by a petite little newbie!_

"Nice trick there battle bunny. But watch this." He dashed into the wave of approaching Beowulfs and shot Wilt from its sheath. The sword collided with the skull of a Beowulf and hung in the air. Using Blush, he masterfully emptied lead into the remaining Grimm. He grabbed Wilt as it fell from the air and stuck it into the neck of the Grimm it knocked out. He sheathed the blade and grinned at his gawking partner: he killed five fully grown Grimm in a matter of three seconds.

Velvet approached him with an impressed smirk. "Where was it you said you trained again?"

"I didn't" he replied with a similar smile. "But I gotta hand it to ya, you surprised me with your fighting style. I didn't take you to be a...um..."

"Berserker? No one usually does. But that's how I like to fight, up close and personal. These are my blades by the way, Jazar Mawt." she said, indicating to her carrot like weapons. "And what do you call yours?"

"Wilt and Blush." he responded. Adam stood there for some time before finally deciding to speak up.

"Listen, about earlier I-"

"All is forgiven. Now lets hurry up and find those relics okay?" she said.

Adam closed his mouth mid-speech and nodded. He was beginning to like his new partner. Sure she was nothing like Blake but he was starting to think that maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

* * *

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzwing, Sky Lark. The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. You will now work together as Team CRDL, lead by...Cardin Winchester!"

The crowd cheered and Adam stood in nervousness. He and Velvet had been the first to retrieve their relics and make it back to the rendezvous point. Since then he had been sweating nervously over whether or not Blake would be on his team. They had met up after getting back and she told him of the battle that ensued after his departure. Before she could get into detail, however, they were separated by teachers and lead into the auditorium.

"...lead by, Jaune Arc!" The crowed cheered once more as Ozpin declared another team. There were only eight students left, Blake among them. He made a silent prayer that they would end up together, his hands shaking in anticipation. Velvet grabbed his hand from next to him and squeezed it reassuringly. Before he could react to this, Ozpin began naming another team.

"Adam Taurus," he began. The bull faunus swallowed. This was the moment of truth.

"Velvet Scarlatina...," he continued. Adam closed his eyes from beneath his mask. Please be Blake he silently pleaded. Please...

"Neptune Versailles, Sun Wukong. You four picked up the red knight pieces. From henceforth you will work together as Team AVNS (Avens). You will be lead by...Adam Taurus!"

Adam turned his head to Blake in horror. She gave him a sad smile and nodded. _It'll be okay_ she seemed to say. He turned to face his new team. Velvet looked to him with concern while Sun and Neptune grinned and gave him both thumbs up. He turned back to Blake and nodded once to her. She sighed with relief and turned away.

Though Adam was happy with his team (hell at least they were mostly faunus), he could not show Blake his true feelings for fear of worrying her. Though he knew he would learn to love them, the only thought on his mind was that none of them was Blake.

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**A/N: Now I would like to address a tragedy that many of us already know about. Almost two week ago, our beloved Monty Oum passed from this world after ten days of being in a coma. I would like to thank him for all he has done for me despite him never knowing my name. It was his work and resolve that inspired me to try my hand at writing. After reading a fuck ton of it, I had finally written my own fanfiction story in July (The Son of Sorrow). It was because of him that my beloved Reemus Ookami was born, as well as Ravus and Kara and Romulus. He taught me the joy doing something creative and wonderful, and how with some effort and patience, you can make something amazing. I pray to Allah (by the way, hes the same God in Christianity, Allah is just the Arabic word for it) that you attain Paradise, and that you rest in peace. Thanks for everything you have done for me and the rest of our extraordinary fandom Monty. We will never forget you :(**


	5. A Tale of Two Semblances

**A/N: Hey all! Got to write this quicker than expected so that's a pleasant surprise for moi and, hopefully, you guys. To those who don't know, Avens is Old French for a type of Rose Family (hence the title of the previous chapter.) Well nothing else to add so enjoy the story!**

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Chapter 5: A Tale of Two Semblances

After the Teams were arranged, the students began marching to their assigned dorms. Blake ended up on Team RWBY, with the Blonde, the Shorty, and the Heiress. Adam could not be more angry.

_Of all the people for her to end up with, the fucking Schnee is one of them! Ugh this is not going to be fun_ he thought. As they continued navigating through the halls, Velvet turned to him.

"Hey I'm sorry Blake didn't end up with-" she began.

"It's fine. Wasn't in your control." he said with finality. Velvet nodded and continued to walk in silence. Neptune and Sun were laughing high fiving each other. _At least someone is excited about their predicament _he grumbled internally. They turned a corner and entered the hall where their dorm was supposed to. As they began to approach their room, Adam saw a familiar black figure standing outside the one next to his.

"Blake?" he said in surprise. She smiled and sighed with relief. Adam grinned. "At least our rooms are next to each other, eh? Man that would've sucked getting screwed three times in a row."

"Tell me about it" said Blake. "So new partner huh?" she turned to Velvet and offered her hand. "My name is Blake Belladonna, Adam's friend and apprentice from back home. You must be Velvet."

Velvet smiled and took it. "Nice to finally meet you. Sorry about the whole team thing. I know you and Adam wanted to end up together."

"It's fine" said Blake, "We'll adjust somehow. Besides, all Teams in the same hall have classes together anyways."

"Oh that's great" said Velvet with a kind smile. "And apprentice huh? Does that make him your mentor or something?".

Blake chuckled. "Yea I guess so. Though between you and me, I'm a bit more disciplined".

Adam rolled his eyes. "As if. Remember the time you kept fucking up your whip because it looked like a ball of yarn?".

Blake's face went scarlet and Velvet began laughing. Blake mumbled how it only happened once, causing Velvet to laugh even more. She had a cute laugh, very soft and happy. Adam couldn't help but laugh himself.

"Well whatever" said Blake with annoyance. "I have to meet with my team. You guys should too, especially Adam. You are a leader after all."

"Yea, aren't I always?" he said with a shrug. Blake rolled her eyes and wished them goodnight. She hugged Velvet and went to her room, closing the door silently behind her.

"Well that was nice. I never knew Blake was so kind." said Velvet happily.

Adam chuckled. "It's this school I'm tellin ya. Pleasant change from our...previous living conditions."

"And those would be...?" she asked as they reached their room.

"None of your concern" he said as he entered their room. Velvet sighed and followed him in. Though she knew Adam wasn't intent on revealing his past, she hoped he would soon be able to trust her enough to do so.

The room consisted of four beds, each with a dresser and a work desk for homework. On each of the beds were two pairs of uniforms, and at the foot of each one was their luggage. Neptune and Sun were currently wrestling on top of the bed furthest right, laughing and rabble rousing about. Adam shook his head and made his way to the first bed where his things were. He began to unpack.

"Hey Adam!" called Sun from behind him who decided to take a break from playing. "Or should I say Fearless Leader Adam. Aren't you gonna introduce us to your partner?".

"She's a big girl" he said without turning around. "She can introduce herself."

"Ass" said Sun. He turned to Velvet who was still near the door. "My name is Sun Wukong, nice to-"

"And I'm Neptune" said Neptune as he walked over to her in a very suave fashion. "Neptune Vasilias. I don't believe I caught your name Honey Bun."

Adam turned to the two with a grin on his face._ Oh this guy hasn't seen the real Velvet has he? This is gonna be good_ thought Adam.

She gave him a kind smile and extended her hand. "Velvet Scarlatina. It's a pleasure to meet you guys."

Neptune took her hand and lifted it to his lips. He planted a kiss and said, "The pleasure is all mine".

Without letting her smile falter, she twisted his wrist upward and bent it towards his elbow. Before he could wince she was behind him, pushing him to his knees by his neck with her free hand, never letting go of his arm.

Adam chuckled and stood. "Rule Number One of Team AVNS: no dating or _flirting_ with each other." he looked to the currently incapacitated Neptune as he said the last part. "Last thing we need is compromising a mission over some petty love shit between us. Any objections?"

"Nope" said Sun who looked fearfully at Velvet.

"None at all" said Velvet sweetly.

"God no" said Neptune with a whimper.

Adam grinned. "Good. Rule Number Two: respect each other's privacy. We may be teammates but that does mean we are entitled to know everyone's private lives or secrets. Intrusion of this will only lead to problems we don't need. Agreed?"

They all nodded in affirmation.

"And last but not least, Rule Number Three: trust in each other. If we are to develop the skills to fight Grimm we have to be able to seek each other out. Whether it's studies, fighting, or personal problems there will always be times where we will require assistance. If you can't trust each other for help then don't even bother trusting us to fight alongside you. Agreed?"

"Yes" they all said in unison.

"Good" said Adam. "Are there any questions?"

"Uhh I have one" grunted Neptune. "Can you tell Velvet my neck is killing me"

"Oh right" said Velvet as she released Neptune. "Sorry".

Adam smiled and continued to unpack as Velvet helped Neptune to his feet. Adam felt a hand on his shoulder and Adam turned to see Sun crouching behind him.

"Nice speech back there bro. I loved what you said about the whole trusting each other thing."

Adam shrugged. "Just common sense."

"Well whatever you wanna call it I think you're gonna make a good leader for us."

Adam smiled and nodded. "Thanks Sun."

Sun returned Adam his smile and went back to his bed to finish his things.

* * *

In no time the four had unpacked and got into their PJs. It was sill too early for bed so they sat in a circle and store at one another.

"Soooo" said Sun. "Anything we want to let each other know about ourselves?"

"Personally I think we should discuss our fighting styles" said Velvet matter-of-factly. "That way we can start discussing the best strategies for fighting together".

The boys nodded in agreement.

"Well I have a Trident that triples as a Glaive and a shock gun. I usually use the glaive for slashing and the trident for stabbing in close quarters. Obviously the gun is for more ranged attacks. I call my deadly little beauty _Seismos_." he gave a sheepish smile and put his hand behind his head. "Guess the multitude of fighting options makes up for my lack of semblance".

Sun wrapped his arm around his friend's neck and pulled him in. "Don't worry bud, it'll come soon".

Neptune pushed his friend away from him and grumbled. Velvet chuckled and spoke up.

"Well my weapons, _Jazar Mawt_, are two knives that can fire explosive dust out the ends of it. I'm more of a berserker type of fighter, all strength and charging. My semblance, _Hecate_, allows me to use magic to enhance both mine, and my partners abilities in combat."

Sun whistled. "No offense there Vel but I never took ya to be viking kinda fighter".

"S'not that hard to believe" mumbled Neptune who rolled his shoulder. The rest of Team AVNS laughed at their friends discomfort.

"Well how about you big guy?" asked Sun. "You must have some tricks up your sleeve".

Adam adjusted his mask and yawned. "I have a Katana and a sheath that doubles as a shotgun. They're named _Wilt and Blush_ respectively. I typically fight with the _Laido_ swordsman technique. It calls for sheathing and unsheathing the blade repeatedly for quick slashes. I make good use of this style of fighting with my heightened speed. My semblance, _Moonslice_, allows me to absorb high amounts of energy through my blade to convert it into a deadly attack that wilts whatever the blade comes into contact with in a flurry of rose petals".

Sun and Neptune, having not witnessed this first hand were amazed. Velvet, clearly not impressed, rolled her eyes at the two boys astonishment.

"Duuudde that's sick. That must be the coolest semblance ever!" grinned Sun.

"Yea, try being on top of a tree when he decides to "moonslice" it to smithereens. Not so cool then" said Velvet as she rubbed her rear.

The four of them laughed with Adam giving a small apology to his partner. It was now Sun who spoke up.

"Okay so weapon is called _Ryu-Bang and Jingu-Bang_. Its a Bo staff that doubles as a pair of Gunchucks, which is basically nun-chucks but instead of sticks, they're shotguns!" he said excitedly. "I fight with the _Bojitsu_ style which is basically a martial art centered on the staff, but I can fight without it if necessary. Now I have two different semblances-"

Adam and Velvet went wide eyed which only made Sun grin more. They had never met anyone with two semblances as it was a rare occurrence in the World of Remnant, not even Adam who spent countless times fighting all over the continents. Neptune rolled his eyes.

"I know right? He gets two semblances and I get none. I feel robbed".

"Oh quit complaining" said Sun. "So anyways my first semblance is _Shen Wai Shen,_ which basically means I can send golden clones to attack and explode on my enemies. Now my second one is really cool for detective work. It's called _Huoyan-JingJing_, or "the Golden Gaze" which lets me see past disguises."

Adam froze when Sun said that last part. _Oh no. Oh man this is not what I am hearing. Maybe it doesn't work the way I think it does?_

"In fact" he continued "I've already seen a student disguising herself at our school. Adam knows her very well"

Adam began shaking his head. _Fuck! Sun shut up shut up shut up!_ he screamed in his head. He began reaching to Sun but it was far too late. He could not stop the words from coming out of the monkey Fauni's mouth.

"It turns out Blake-Adam's _not_ girlfriend-is a faunus too!"

Adam stopped with his mouth in horror and his arm halfway to Sun's face. They immediately could tell Adam was in distress.

"Oh no" said Sun hesitantly. "Was I, uh, not supposed to say that?"

* * *

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter of The Wilting Rose! Now a lot of the information I used was from the RWBY wikia (save for my obvious addition of Velvet's knives). Anything that was left out, I improvised for my own plot-related purposes. Questions, Comments, and Criticism is never not appreciated and as always, Follow and Favorite if you like what you read!**


	6. Chapter 6: A Cheeky First Day

**A/N: Hello! Man I procrastinate a lot don't I? Well no matter. Had a bit of writers block but thankfully I was able to think of something for this chapter, which is good since I already know what I want to write for the next one. Wont be able to write that though because a very special day for me is coming up soon and some of you may already know what that is! Anyways enjoy as always, Parade out!**

* * *

Chapter 6: A Cheeky First Day

Adam paced in front of his teammates who still sat crossed legged on the floor, his brow furrowed in deep thought. Sun had his eyes to floor in shame while Velvet tried to reassure him that it's okay. Adam was unsure of how to handle this situation.

_This sucks. How much of the truth should I tell them, if any at all? I can't tell them about our involvement in the white fang, we'd be arrested if they knew. Hmmmm_

"It began when we were children" he began carefully, thinking of how to fabricate this tale off the fly. "Me and Blake grew up outside of the kingdoms where humans weren't as kind to the Faunus as they are in Vale. By the time I met her she had already been through a lot, both bullied and abused because of her heritage. I had faced the same fate she did, only it made me feel proud to be different and made her feel ashamed. I took her in as a friend and taught her how to fight, to fend of the bullies and dangers in our world. Though she now accepts and cherishes what she is, she still fears that people will judge her first as a Faunus rather than a person. I hope you guys get this is very personal and that it really isn't your business. Tell anyone and I may need a new team".

By the end of it, he was surprised how little of his story was a lie. Save for all the omissions, it was all true. His partners were silent and wore looks of pity and guilt. Adam hated those looks. Sure life was hard but that's just how shit goes right?

"I'm sorry dude, I should've realized there was a reason for her disguise. Her secret is safe with me, no doubt." said Sun.

"Same here bro" said Neptune with a nod.

Velvet nodded as well. "I know what it's like to be bullied because of what you are. If this is how she deals with it then she has a right to handle it whatever way she wants to".

Adam sighed with relief. _Crisis averted...for now at least_ he thought. "Thank you all for understanding. Listen we got class tomorrow at nine so let's try and get some shut eye. Been a long ass day man I'll tell you what".

They all agreed, rising up to crawl into bed while Adam made his way over to his. Leaving his mask on, he laid down on top of the blanket and closed his eyes.

"Hey dude, why keep the mask on" he heard Sun call from the end of the room. "It doesn't seem like you have any deformities or scars or anything."

"Yea, you would know" he replied with acid on his tongue. "It's a personal thing so please don't ask. Already know too much about me"

"Right. Sorry" he muttered shyly before turning out the lights. _Man these people have no sense of the word privacy! Ugh if only I was more anti-social like Blake. Maybe then i'd be less appealing to talk to._

He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Adam leaned back in his seat, waiting for class to start. He had made sure to wake up his team exactly one hour early to eat, get dressed, and get to class ten minutes prior to it's beginning. Though laid back, Adam believed that one is only allowed to behave as such when things are taken care of properly. He shifted his gaze to the clock. _Class starts in five minutes...where the hell is Blake?_

"Hey, earth to Adam" came a voice to his left. "You don't mind if I sit here right? Or are you gonna keep staring off into space while I stand here looking like a lost little bunny". He turned to see his partner-_new_ partner-giving him a sly grin.

Adam shrugged. "Please be my guest. We can compare notes or whatever. If I don't knock out that is."

"Oh you will, no doubt about that. This is Professor Port's class." said Velvet.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, already nestling his head into his arms.

"You'll see" she smirked. The bell rung and the doors flew open. Several students tumbled in, all with varying colors of hair. Adam recognized them as Teams RWBY and JNPR. He rolled his eyes as they made their way to the front row, Blake choosing to stay behind to sit next to Adam.

"Not very punctual on our first official day now are we?" he said with a yawn. "What made you guys so late?"

"We were unpacking and decorating the room. We sort of forgot about class and had to sprint here with a minute to spare. Team JNPR ran into the same issue I guess." said Blake.

"Why'd you guys decide to do that now and not last night?" asked Velvet.

Blake opened her mouth to speak but was cut short by a booming voice.

"Monsters! Deeeemons. Prowlers of the Night. Yes the creatures of Grimm have many names." The voice belonged to a big bellied man with gray hair and a glorious mustache to go with it. Adam assumed this had to be Professor Port.

"But I merely refer to them as prey" he continued. Adam yawned and closed his eyes, shutting his voice out. He was in no mood for this. He drifted slowly and awoke at that the teacher's "AHEM".

He woke up quick and saw the teacher was not scolding him, and instead Team RWBY.

"In the end the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a Hero!" Adam rolled his eyes and tried to sleep again. _Whatever dude_ he thought.

"I DO SIR" Adam snapped his head up again in annoyance at being woken up. _God what is it this time?!_

He looked to the bottom of the class as the teacher directed the Schnee girl to a door on the far side of the classroom. He turned to Blake.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Looks like Weiss is going to show us what it means to be a true huntress or something" she said while drawing something.

Adam snorted. "This'll be good."

She soon emerged from the door, fully dressed in her combat clothes and armed with her rapier. _Leave it to a Schnee to show-boat when the chance calls for it_. She took her stance and awaited her prey. The professor broke the chains with his axe and a boarbabtusk flew out to attack the white hair huntress. She fought strongly while her teamates shouted words of encouragement, and for their leader, advice.

Weiss soon turned and yelled at the small girl. "STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Adam raised his brow at this burst of anger. Soon the creature lay dead at her feet after Weiss expertly struck it through the heart. Adam had to admit, despite his contempt for her and her family, she was a pretty good fighter. After that, class was pretty much over and he went about the rest if his day. His other classes were alright, combat training and history as well as a few elective classes. Truth be told he already knew much of this stuff from his training with the White Fang. After all not everyone could be as high ranking as he was without knowing some stuff right?

Soon it was lunchtime and he found himself alone with Velvet, searching for a table. He was about to take the one at the far end of the cafeteria where a scarce amount of people were when the bunny Faunus began pulling him in the direction of Team RWBY and JNPR's table. He groaned as they approached, not wanting to interact with more humans than needed. But seeing Blake perk up upon seeing him and direct him to sit by her made it okay he guessed. He sat down and began to eat, not acknowledging those around him.

"Ahem, hello there stud muffin, you gonna introduce yourself?" came a boisterous voice from across him. He looked up to see a grinning blonde haired beauty waving at him.

"Um, hi. I'm Adam Taurus and did you just call me a 'stud muffin'?" he asked.

"Mhmm sure did stud muffin. What's with the mask dude, it's kinda creepy. Looks like a Grimm or something." she asked.

Adam huffed with annoyance. "No one asks about the mask and no one calls me a stud muffin. If we can agree on those two things, I might just become some of your friends. Can we agree on that?"

The table laughed and Yang feigned a look of hurt. Adam never understood what was funny but grinned at having made them laugh. No matter how hard he tried at being like Blake, he loved the spotlight. They all introduced themselves to each other, the two teams having already met during initiation. Apparently they had fought a full grown Nevermore and Death Stalker just after Adam and Velvet got their pieces and scrambled.

"Wow we missed a lot of fun then" he said as he chewed on his sandwich. "Invite us to the party next time why dont'cha?".

"Will do Mister Stud Muffin" said Yang with a grin.

"Hey what did I say about..." said Adam as them and the group began a funny argument. Meanwhile Velvet turned to the cat Faunus.

"Where are your other two teammates by the way?" asked Velvet to Blake. "I haven't seen them since Port's class".

"Ruby and Weiss? They kind of got mad and stormed off on their own" said Blake as she read her book. "No idea where they went".

"That Schnee girl is something else I'm telling ya" grunted Adam. "I wish you two the best of luck putting up with her bullshit attitude".

They chuckled and continued to converse. Sun and Neptune joined them not too long after most of the table had left and Sun took a seat to Blake's left.

"Hi there, you must be Blake" he said eagerly.

"Mhmmm" she said without looking up from her book.

"I'm Sun, nice to meet you." said Sun.

"Yup" she said, still ignoring him. Sun's eager look began to crumble and his smiled faded. Adam rolled his eyes.

"Damn Blake, just say hi to the dude" said Adam as he rose. "Least this one's a Faunus" he muttered so no one would hear him.

"Hi" she said, still reading. "Listen I'm not much of a talker so don't expect much out of me if you want to converse".

Adam patted the monkey Faunus on the shoulder as he left the table. "Good luck".

_Man that kid is gonna be disappointed if he keeps chasin' after her. She never has showed much of an interest in guys before. I wonder why that is_. He grabbed some shampoo and body wash from his dorm and made his way to the men's shower room. Once entered, he checked to see if anyone was in there and was relieved to see that there weren't. He stripped and set his clothes on the side before taking off his mask and putting setting them down with the rest of his garments. He entered the shower and felt the warmth of the water cascade down his bare skin. He sighed with relief and began to scrub his body quickly as well as his hair. He was done in a matter of minutes, not wanting to have his mask out of sight, and wrapped a towel around his waist before putting his mask back on. He exited the shower room with his clothes in hand and made his way back to his dorm.

It was then that he felt a sudden yank on his towel and a draft around his thighs and rear. Some hurried footsteps and snickering followed, Adam turning around to find the source had disappeared. He looked down and found himself to be buck naked...just as he heard the door to the Women's shower room opening. His eyes flew up to see some giggling girls walk out, only to freeze up upon seeing him.

_Oh fuck me sideways _was the last thing he thought before the screeches came.

A/N: So I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I only now realize how well liked it is as I had nowhere near this many follows on Son of Sorrow at chapter five. I am also planning on writing another story soon (spoilers, its a RWBY based one) once I establish a plot. Questions comments and criticism is appreciated, follow/fave for more Wilting Rose!


	7. Confrontaations

**A/N: Hey all! Been awhile since I've updated and as always, my apologies. Hate keeping you guys hanging so hopefully next one won't be as long of a wait. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: Confrontations

They screamed in shock at the sight before them as Adam stood there confused and dumbstruck. _Who the fuck...? Oh man I need to get out of here before I get expelled or something._

"Sorry ladies!" he grabbed his things and sped down the hall. He turned a corner and barged into a classroom, thankful that no teacher was there. He pulled on his underwear and pants before a wave of anger hit him.

"So some fuckers thinks it's funny to mess with me eh?" he growled, "They better pray I don't find out who they are."

He threw on a red t-shirt and grabbed the rest of his things before stomping back to his room. By the time he reached his room, he had calmed down some but was still a bit steamy. He didn't do too well to hide this.

"Hey you alright there?" asked Velvet who was sitting on her bed with a book on her lap. Sun was playing video games with Neptune, both too engrossed in the game to pay any attention. From what he could tell it was one of those one-on-one fighting games. "You seem kind of pissed"

"I'm fine, nothing to worry about" he grumbled. "Oi, where the hell did you two get a gaming console and a T.V?"

"Neptune brought it over from home. His parents are like filthy rich" said Sun without averting his gaze.

"Not _filthy_ rich, more like wealthy and cleanaly" said Neptune.

Sun turned to his friend with disapointment. "That sounded so lame i'm almost tempted to throw the match to avoid playing with you".

"Well that's good 'cause it's my turn" said Adam as he snatched the controller from Sun's hand. "What game is this anyways?"

"Hero's of Old. Ever play it?" asked Neptune.

"You kidding me? This is all I used to play back home. Never had time to play much though so go-"

"Too late!" said Neptune as he knocked Adam out with a quick 15-hit combo.

"-easy on me" finished Adam with a shred of annoyance.

"Like taking candy from a baby" Neptune snickered.

"Grrr" mumbled Adam. "Whatever. Real fighting is where I do best anyways." He tossed the controller back to Sun and the two boys laughed at their leader's frustration.

Adam sighed from exhaustion and layed down on his bed, now stripped down to a pair of black pajama shorts. He wiped his eyes from beneath his mask and yawned.

"Hey, are you sure you're alright? You look really drained." It was Velvet, who now sat at the foot of his bed. She looked to him with concern. Adam shook his head.

"Some guys decided to remove me of my towel in front of the girls bathroom after my shower. I ended up having to streak to an empty classroom to avoid getting caught. Like five girls saw me."

Velvet covered her mouth as she let out a snrk. "Are...are you serious?"

Though his eyes were hidden, his death stare was enough to stop Velvet. "Well then thats embarressing. Probably just some asshole uppperclassmen pulling a prank on you becuase you're new."

"Yea well that asshole better hope I don't don't find out who he is." said Adam. He let out a yawn and stretched his arms out. "We'll i'm clocking out for the night. Sun, Neptune, I advise you two get some sleep for tomorrow's combat class. We're having individual battles and I wanna get a guage on your level so I know what i'm working with"

"Uh huh, got you" said Sun, not paying Adam any real attention.

"We'll I guess I'll sleep too" said Velvet. "Night Adam".

"Mhmm" was all he said before he drifted to deep slumber.

* * *

_Adam...you've abandoned us...you've abandoned your kind..._

_No...what we did was wrong..._

_Do you really believe that...or was it all for her?..._

_W-what...no, how could..._

_Lies! You betrayed the fauni for a treasonous scum!_

_No...NO!_

_YES! YOU ARE AN ENEMY TO ALL YOUR KIN! YOU TOO ARE A TRAITOR!_

"No...NO!" he mumbled. "I am not a traitor!"

"Adam wake up!" cried Velvet before smacking him on the face.

He instanly rolled up grabbed the air at his side and swept it in front of Velvet's face. She grabbed his wrist and applied pressure as he gasped for air.

"Adam are you okay?" she asked in a shocked tone. "The hell was _that_?"

He looked up at the bunny-eared faunus's face and read the deep worry she displayed.

"I'm...fine" he heaved. "Sorry...was having a...nightmare or something".

"I could tell" she said before realising his arm. "Are you really okay though? Do you want to talk about it?"

"No" he said as he rubbed his wrist. "I'm getting dressed, make sure those two numbskulls wake up and get ready."

"O-oh. Okay then..." she said. In a matter of minutes Adam was dressed and out the door, leaving Velvet to take care of the sleeping bafoons.

_Traitor?_ she thought. _A traitor to who?_

"Fuck" he whispered under his breath as he made his way down the stairs to breakfast. _Errrgggghhh I thought I had the sleep-talking under control! I hope she didn't hear too much, last thing I ne-_

"Ouf" he huffed as he was violently shoved to the side.

"Watch you're going faunus freak."

Adam turned instantly. "The fuck you just say?"

The boy was tall and built, with short russet hair and sapphire eyes. He was accompanied with three others, all looking stranger than the other.

"I said, watch you're going, _freak_" he said with a sneer.

Adam began rolling up his sleeves._ Don't have Wilt and Blush but he's unarmed too. I've handled a four on one before and his goons don't look too tough anyways. This mother fu-_

Suddenly he was being pulled away from the small gang of bullies. He turned to find Blake dragging him by the collar in the opposite direction. Before he knew it they were already in the cafeteria.

"Hey watch it" said Adam as he swatted at Blake's hand. "What'd you do that for?"

"Do you want to stay under the radar or not? Because beating some team senseless on the third day is _not _low key!" said Blake.

He growled slightly. "We'll i'm sorry but he had it coming. _'Faunus Freak'_. I'm whooping his-"

"NO, you wont" she snapped. Her voice then dropped to a whisper. "That is how the White Fang handles their problems. Not us. If you think their way is better then why don't you turn around and go back".

Adam was taken aback by this. He swallowed and took a deep breath. "Look...i'm sorry okay? It's an adjustment from how I usually handle these things. I mean this isn't easy for me. Not exactly a change I can make overnight unlike some of us"

Blake took a deep breath and sighed before embracing her mentor. "I know it isn't and i'm sorry. I'm just worried about you and scared that...well..."

"That I might come to my senses and turn tail?" said Adam. "Don't lie I know it's on your mind."

She nodded into his chest.

Adam pushed her slightly so that she was looking to his face. "Ever since we were kids my only goal has been to protect you from all that tried to harm you. For the longest time that was humans, and for that I turned them into my enemy. An enemy that must be destroyed. And now, suddenly, even fucking _Schnees_ are supposed to be neutral territory. It ain't easy you know?I know I need to learn to fix my mindsight, and I promise that I will. Because the last thing I would ever want is for me to become one of those things that harms you. You're all I have Blakey."

Blakes eyes welled slightly with tears and she smiled before burying her face in Adam's chest once more.

"I love you Adam" she said.

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head, right between her ears. "Love you too. Now let's get something to eat. All this emtional stuff is making me hungry."

Blake laughed with him. "Okay then sure".

* * *

Adam groaned in anger. _Why can't this incompetent knight fight at all? He's making this beefy jerk look good!_

Jaune Arc, the blonde leader of Team JNPR, had just gotten creamed by Cardin Winchester of CRDL. The brute had a smug look on his face as he walked off the stage and into the crowd of cheering students. _Morons. Cheering on some racist bastard who preys on the weak._ _If I got to fight him, oh the things I would do._ The class came to a sudden hush as the professor prepared the next matchup.

"So, you ready to fight?" asked Velvet who stood next to the masked leader.

"Always ready" he said with a grin. "I just hope it's a good one"

"Next match!" announced Goodwitch. "Adam Taurus of AVNS versus Weiss Schnee of RWBY!"

His grin spread wide as his partner looked up to him with a smirk.

"Does this qualify as a good one"

"Oooohh yea" said Adam as he ascended the stage, "Definitely a good one".

* * *

**A/N: Gonna end here and kick off the next chapter with some style! Though this story is sort of an AU, I will definitely be continuing to add in my own little dashes of fun. Hope you guys enjoyed and as always, Questions and Comments are appreciated. Follow/Fave if you enjoy the story thus far.**


	8. Combat School

**A/N: OMG YOU GUYS ARE CRAZY. I can't believe we have already hit over 100 follows for this relatively short story. You guys are awesome and it's so nice to see so much support despite how short this story is so far. Hope you guys continue to read my stories and please enjoy todays chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Combat School

Adam walked down to the stage, anticipation flooding through his veins. He heard tales of the Schnee's while at the White Fang. They hated them with burning fire but even the Fang do not underestimate their enemies. _If Weiss is anything like her sister...this'll be an interesting show. _He reached the center stage and his opponent did as well. The clock began to count down from 60 seconds. Adam gave a sly grin.

"So we meet again Schnee. Little far from Atlas though aren't you? Don't like the cold?" he taunted.

"You mind your tongue! I can attend school wherever I please and I DON'T see how that is any of _your_ business" she snapped.

_Hot headed I see. Hmmm_

"Calm down there Ice Queen, you're getting a bit too heated. Heat melts ice you know that right? Might want to be a bit careful about that"

"Excuse me?" she growled.

The clock hit zero and Weiss yelled in in anger. She shot herself forward with Myrtenaster at the point. Adam grinned. Just as the rapier's tip neared his neck he dodged to the side and whipped out Wilt as the heiress flew passed him. Her aura dropped and she tumbled. With blinding speed Adam had managed to make the first hit and the class was in awe. As Weiss began to stand up, he turned around and flew towards her, sheathing and unsheathing his blade across her while her meter dropped. She had finally managed to parry a few of his attacks but her aura was already nearing the red. She thrust her rapier forward but the bull faunus leapt back, and created great distance between them before charging up his Moonblade.

_That sword contains dust but not a lot, and I doubt she'll concentrate the output given her now panicked state. Perfect._

She rose up quickly and fired three blasts in his direction with an angered screech. Just as they neared him he unsheathed Wilt and absorbed the attack into the blade before storing it into Blush just as fast.

"What?" exclaimed the heiress in shock. Adam silently chuckled before flying to Weiss. He unsheathed his blade as he ran, and when he neared her, shoved Blush into her gut. He unloaded his rounds into her and the snowy girl's aura melted away in a flurry of roses until the meter depleted to red. She dropped to her knees as Adam stood standing in victory. Not a single scratch had been laid upon him. Professor Goodwitch watched with shock and admiration, the class following the same expression as their teacher.

"W-well then. It seems Mr. Taurus is our winner."

He smirked with boastful glee. "Always wanted to do that to a Schnee." he said in a low whisper, "Better luck next time"

He sheathed his blade and walked down the stage, his teammates cheering for him. The two boys clapped him on the back.

"Dude that was awesome!" exclaimed Sun.

"You totally owned her" said Neptune.

"Okay okay settle down AVNS. We will now go to our next match..."

Adam zoned out after that. He felt so smug. Sure this was the youngest Schnee and, by definition, the most untrained. But still, it felt good to be able to whip one of those haughty faunus-hating prick's asses. If he were still in the Fang they'dve thrown him a party.  
He shook his head. _No. I defeated a fellow student in our combat class. Her name and race means nothing..._

He glanced over at Blake who gave him a small smirk and a thumb's up. He grinned.

_Ah who am I kidding, that felt amazing._

Before long all the one-on-one matches had ended and Goodwich dismissed the class. The students returned to the locker rooms and Adam began to change.

"Dude" said Sun who was changing beside him. "That was awesome. I didn't know you could use your semblance through your gun".

Adam shrugged. "It's less powerful but is more practical when less energy is absorbed. Besides, the gut shots looked cooler."

"Got that right" Neptune said with nodding approval.

"You two did amazing as well. Never seen anyone use shotgun nunchucks before"

"Hey, they're called Gunchaku. And thanks man" he said with slight glee.

"I lost though" groaned Neptune. "That Yang girl is one hell of fighter"

Adam clapped him on the back. "Ay, for someone who doesn't have a semblance you did excellent. The fact you got her into orange without one shows potential you have for when you do develop one. You'll get her next time, I bet on it".

Neptune scratched the back of his head in a sign of embarrassment.

"Thanks man. Means a lot" he said.

"Don't sweat it." said Adam as he pulled his tie on. "Besides at least it was like Jaune. Can't believe he lost to that red-headed prick Cardin Winchester."

"Yeaaa that was a bad one" said Sun. "Wonder how he got into Beacon with those um...skills". Adam and Neptune laughed quietly as they finished getting dressed.

"Alright alright enough talk. Let's grab lunch, I'm starving".

The trio made their way over to the lunch table where teams RWBY and JNPR were sitting. Adam sat down and began to attack his sandwich as his friends conversed. After a few minutes he noticed someone was missing from the table. He peered. "Anyone know where Velvet is at?"

"She was taking a bit long in the locker rooms so she told us to go ahead" said Blake, whos eyes never strayed from her book.

"Huh. Alright then" he said, returning to his food. He looked over to Weiss who sat with her facing down, eating her salad with angry ferocity. He stifled his laughter.

"Adam I must say you did excellent in your fight this evening" said Pyrrah. "I've never seen anyone move so fast"

"Same here! And my sister's semblance is speed!" exclaimed Yang.

Adam grinned and feigned a bow. "Thank you thank you" he said. "Speed is my speciality".

"Hey aren't bulls supposed to be slow?" asked Sun.

"Yea you'd think you'd be more viking style like Velvet is" said Neptune.

Adam shrugged. "I already have tons of strength because of it. So I just focused my energy on building my speed. Better to win the fight quick and easy. Doesn't give your opponent a chance to hit you" he said, giving a ghost of wink at Weiss. She gave an annoyed hmph before standing up and marching away from the table. They all looked at each other with both pity and humor.

"Annnyways" said Yang awkwardly, "Velvet did awesome too. I love her berserker style, me and her are so gonna be bffs".

_Speaking of Velvet, she still hasn't came to lunch_. For some reason Adam couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and rose from the table.

"Well I think I'm going to take a nap. See you guys later, and please don't be too loud when you two come in" he said, giving a stern look at his two teammates.

"Sorry buddy no promises" said Neptune while Sun nodded in agreement. Adam sighed and turned around, heading into the halls to look for his bunny-eared partner.

As he walked the halls he naturally headed in the direction of their dorm-after all she might've just gone there to grab something. As he turned the corner his initial thought dissipated and he first felt shock. Then disbelief. And then...pure rage at the sight of his partner's tears falling as Cardin pulled at her ears and his friends jeered him on. Adam slowly rolled up his sleeves. There was no Blake to hold him back now. And boy was he glad for that.

* * *

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